Transformers Prime: Shrouded Truth (#4) [Completed]

Chapter 22

Smokescreen's P.O.V.
(Until otherwise stated)

Everything was dark. I could feel nothing, no pain, not my body, not even any emotions. The world was utterly empty, as was I. All I was were thoughts, spinning around in nothing. I wasn't greeted by my fallen friends, not Primus, nor were my memories spun into one film for me to watch and reflect upon. There was nothing.

In the nothingness, all I could think about was Lora, alone and grieving. I didn't feel regret or sadness, but I knew in this situation, those would be to key two emotions, along with anger, disappointment, worry all weaved together.

In the nothingness, I could do nothing but think. There was no movement, just constant thoughts. My failures came to mind, along with my regrets. My greatest moments seemed minuscule compared to those two.

In the nothingness, there was a light, a single, pure light that made the nothingness not a nothingness, but rather, a somethingness. The glow grew brighter, scaring away my thoughts. All I could think about, or see with my minds' optic was that glow. It called out me to, and I went. It was something, and I was tired of nothing.

The glow evolved, gifting emotions back to me. It was confusion that hit me first, followed by fear, concern, and hope. Still, the glow increased, and I focused on it.

The glow became physical, or at least, something that took shape. It gifted me a mental body, so I ran after it, never growing closer or farther. The only thing I accomplished was getting away from the nothingness.

The glow changed, gaining colour, giving the darkness a purple tinge. Whether I wanted it or not, the now purple glow increased, enveloping me into it. Pain was the first thing that hit me. Hot, searing pain. It felt as if my chest was on fire all over again. It burned through me, tearing a hole into me once again. I let lose a deep scream of pain. I dropped to my knees, my hands clawing at my chest.

I begged the universe, whoever was out there, to let me be, to let this purple glow release me. I wanted to crawl back into the nothingness, to be nothing more than thoughts, where pain couldn't find me any longer. But the pain wasn't letting me go.

Every wound that I had ever had came back to me, their pain all melding into one chorus. I wanted it to stop, to leave me in peace. It didn't leave, only intensifying. Somehow, through some means I didn't know, Lora's name came to my mind. I called out for her, and that was when it stopped. The pain vanished as swiftly as it came, taking with it the glow.

I was alone in the nothingness once again, but I still had my mental body, my emotions, and I could feel again. I was left in the darkness, with what was taken from me. I was whole again, but something felt off, wrong. This whole existence felt, unholy, like an abomination. Something was off, but I couldn't understand why.

"Wake," someone whispered. It was a femme, her voice as gentle as the winds of earth. Her voice was soothing, a figurative light in this darkness. I followed the echos. They lifted me upwards, towards the surface of the darkness. I erupted all at once. My senses changed, dulling and increasing together. I could feel, smell, hear, and taste once again. My sight was dark, but I could feel I was back. I was among the living once more.

I could hear beeping beside me, a steady rhythm. I could feel a hard surface under me, along with pressure against my wrists and ankles. Had I been thrashing about and Ratchet had to keep me from hurting myself? I only assumed so.

There were no familiar sounds. There were no chatter from the others; I must have woken up in the middle of the night. I could feel energon slowly leaking into my system. From my wound, I would had lost a lot. It was a miracle I was still here.

Wait, how did they get me out? There had been an explosion, I had felt my body being destroyed. There had been nothing left. This..this was off. There was something really wrong.

I tried to open my optics, but they wouldn't budge, not even flicker. I pulled in a deep breath, and started fighting. I pushed through the muck that addled my thoughts, that stopped me from waking in up fully. I pushed through it all, shoving and pulling my way to the surface. I could hear the spark monitor beeping increase, but still I pulled myself out of the muck.

My optics shot open, and I lurched up, as far as I could go with the restraints. I heaved in a great breath, my optics wide. Coughing took over, and I laid back down, jolting up and down with each cough. Finally they stopped, allowing me to look around.

"Ah, look who's finally awake."

I froze, every muscle freezing up at the voice. The pieces clicked together, my surrounds—a dimly light room, metal everywhere, the restraints, the table—and the wrongness all making more sense. The voice only confirmed it.

Knockout grinned down at me. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Smokescreen."